Education, From The Capitol To The Classroom

Stories about students: How does education policy affect the way students learn and grow? Can schools meet their needs as they balance ramped-up testing with personal changes and busy schedules? And are students who need help getting it?

Stories about educators: How are those responsible for implementing education policy in schools − from classroom teachers, to district administrators, to school board members − affected by changes at the top? And how well do they meet their challenge of reaching students with varying abilities and needs?

Stories about school assessment: With an increased push for 'accountability' in schools, what can test scores tell us about teacher effectiveness and student learning − and what can't they tell us? What does the data say about how schools at all levels are performing?

Stories about government influence: Who are the people and groups most instrumental in crafting education policy? What are their priorities and agendas? And how do they work together when they disagree?

Stories about money: How do local, state, and federal governments pay to support the education policies they craft? How do direct costs of going to school − from textbooks to tuition − hit a parent or student's bottom line? And how do changing budgets and funding formulas affect learning and teaching?

What They’re Saying About State Supreme Court Decision To Uphold Vouchers

March 27, 2013 | 9:08 AM

A picture of Pope Benedict XVI hangs in the hallway of St. Thomas Aquinas School in Indianapolis.

‘A clear decision’ — vouchers are constitutional, state high court declares – “The decision wipes away the cloud of uncertainty under which the program — which provides income-based, tax-funded scholarships for students to attend eligible private schools — has operated since a teachers union-backed lawsuit was filed in 2011, the year the program began.”Lafayette Journal & Courier

Ind. court upholds broadest school voucher program – “The Indiana case has received national attention because the program has wide eligibility. Middle-class families are allowed to participate in Indiana, while in most states, such programs are limited to low-income families or those in failing schools.”Associated Press

Indiana Supreme Court upholds school vouchers – “The ruling, on a teachers union-supported lawsuit from 2011, ends the legal challenge to the program at the state level. The case could be made again in federal court. But in 2002 the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a similar program in Ohio, making any federal case a long shot.” Indianapolis Star

Vouchers: Here are the issues that turned the case – “At issue was the fact that many of the taxpayer-funded vouchers support tuition at religious-affiliated private schools such as Catholic parochial schools. In fact, a huge majority of schools accepting vouchers are religious.”Get On The Bus

Topics

Is James G. Blaine Finally Dead? – “The Indiana Supreme Court ruled unanimously today that the state’s school voucher program is constitutional. This is good news for supporters of school choice, and bad news for teachers’ unions. But the Indiana ruling is especially interesting since it may sound the death knell for legal challenges to vouchers based on states’ Blaine Amendments.”Intercepts

Indiana Supreme Court upholds legality of school voucher law – “The decision means, too, that Gov. Mike Pence and the GOP-dominated House and Senate can proceed with an initiative that would eliminate, for those just starting kindergarten, the current requirement that students attend public school for a year before applying for vouchers.”Evansville Courier & Press

Is James G. Blaine Finally Dead? – “The Indiana Supreme Court ruled unanimously today that the state’s school voucher program is constitutional. This is good news for supporters of school choice, and bad news for teachers’ unions. But the Indiana ruling is especially interesting since it may sound the death knell for legal challenges to vouchers based on states’ Blaine Amendments.”Intercepts

School vouchers: Still a bad idea despite Indiana court ruling – “So the Indiana Supreme Court has ruled that the state’s school voucher program is constitutional. It isn’t the first time a supreme court has made a questionable call but, apart from the legal argument, the decision doesn’t mean that vouchers are a good educational or civic idea. They aren’t.”The Answer Sheet